


Father Figures

by JBankai89



Series: The Twelve Days of Smutmas [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Themes, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Kids, M/M, Teddy is adorable, families, father-son relationship (the normal kind), implied werewolf prejudice
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 06:33:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,273
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8879632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JBankai89/pseuds/JBankai89
Summary: “I like living with you,” Teddy said sincerely, “I get to be with my two dads that way.” Harry almost choked at his words. “Your two dads?” He asked.“Yeah, you and Daddy."





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I screwed around with the Kids Gen chronology a bit for this one, but nothing insane.

Special thanks to Faladrast for the awesome graphic! Check them out on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/Faladrast-118654891940425/?fref=ts) or at [**http://faladrast.weebly.com/**](http://faladrast.weebly.com/)

* * *

 

Father Figures

 

When Harry woke on the twenty-third of December, it was to the soft sounds of a father and son chatting together on the main level, and the mere sound of it filled the house with a warmth Grimmauld Place had likely not seen in decades—if ever. Teddy's delighted laughter, and the low thrum of Remus's amusement at his son's antics permeated the silence of the morning pleasantly.

As he lay there, Harry could not help but smile indulgently. Yes, inviting Remus to stay had definitely been the right move.

Beyond the fact that it was the _right_ thing to do, given that Remus found himself and Teddy homeless rather suddenly when his landlady discovered his _little furry problem_ the previous March, it was certainly an enjoyable experience having the drab house filled with such warmth that their presence brought into it—Teddy in particular.

Harry stood and stretched, enjoying the way his joints popped and cracked as he did so, and he threw his dressing gown on over his pyjamas. It was still a new concept in recent months for him to go to bed with clothes on, but on wolf moons Teddy had a habit of crawling into bed with Harry, seeking comfort during those nights when his own father was not around for him. It would not do to accidentally traumatize his godson by way of his bare bum, and as a result he'd taken to throwing on pyjama bottoms at night just to be on the safe side.

 

Harry wandered down to the main level and found the pair seated at the kitchen table. Teddy was sporting his usual full head of violet hair, and he was giggling excitedly as Remus prodded his stack of waffles, changing their colour to match his locks.

“Now do blue, daddy!” he cried, and Remus smiled at his young son, indulging him at once as he nudged the waffles, and they changed to a bright blue.

“Green, green!”

“Are you gonna eat those waffles, or just colour them?” Harry asked, grinning as Teddy whipped around to face him.

“Hi, Uncle Harry!” Teddy said with a wide grin, while Remus chuckled and tapped the food one last time, changing it back to its original colour before he began to help the youngster cut them up, but the boy's gaze was still focused on Harry. “Hey, guess what, guess what!”

“What?” Harry asked, swallowing a laugh as he circled the pair to help himself to some coffee.

“Tomorrow night Father Christmas is going to come! Victoire told me all about it,” he said, practically bouncing in his seat with excitement, while Remus's expression had suddenly become rather fixed.

“Oh yeah?” Harry asked as he sat down and nursed the hot beverage, while Remus gave him a pointed look and pushed a plate of buttered toast towards him. Snorting, he accepted the food, then looked back to Teddy.

“Yeah! And—and then Father Christmas comes to your house and leaves presents if you're good,” he finished a little breathlessly, and Harry grinned a little.

“I think I have heard about that somewhere...” Harry said with a thoughtful air to his voice while he tapped his chin with the tip of his index finger, “Father Christmas only visits _good_ children, Teddy...do you think you've been good this year?”

“I think so,” Teddy said, screwing up his face as he thought, “but there was that one time Daddy yelled at me for spilling his special potion...do you think Father Christmas remembers that?”

It took a great deal of effort for Harry to keep his expression neutral as he remembered the month that Teddy had accidentally knocked over Remus's wolfsbane potion. That had been a particularly hard moon, especially the morning after—Harry could not recall Remus ever looking so beaten up before. Teddy seemed to understand that to an extent his father's condition had been his doing, and as a result it had taken a very long time for his guilt to subside, even with both Harry and his father reassuring him that it wasn't his fault.

“It was an accident Teddy,” Harry said with a gentle smile, “I think you're all right.”

“Oh, good,” his face brightened again, and he dug into his breakfast at last.

 

Two hours later, showered, dressed, and donning his jacket in the front hall, Harry was waiting for Teddy to finish getting ready for their day trip to Diagon Alley. While he waited, Remus pulled him aside with a slightly pained look on his face.

“Harry,” Remus murmured, the seriousness in his tone catching Harry by surprise, “try not to get Teddy too riled up about this Father Christmas thing...I haven't, I mean, I don't...I appreciate you letting us stay here, but things are tight at the moment, and I don't want him to be too disappointed Christmas Morning.”

“What are you talking about Remus?” Harry asked innocently, and he gave Harry a hard look, which he ignored. “ _Father Christmas_ brings gifts for Teddy, not just you and me.”

Remus frowned at Harry, but Harry maintained his innocent smile as he stared back at him. It took a surprisingly short time for Remus to cave in, and let Harry's arm go with a defeated sigh.

“All right, just...don't go overboard,” Remus said, still looking somewhat uncomfortable. Harry tried to not look too pleased with himself, as he was certain Remus would bring it up again at some point over the next forty-eight hours.

“Wouldn't dream of it,” Harry replied with a grin, and Remus snorted with disbelief, which only caused Harry's grin to widen. Teddy bounded downstairs at that exact moment, with such speed that it was a wonder that he didn't go arse-over-teakettle on the way down. His abrupt appearance cut off any more protests Remus may have been preparing, and he turned to give his son a quick hug and squeezed Harry's upper arm, bidding the pair goodbye as they headed out for Diagon Alley.

 

Outside, Teddy was all but skipping at Harry's side as they made their way down the road, his face still brimming with excitement over the upcoming holiday, but he looked a little troubled as well.

“Something on your mind Teddy?” Harry prompted, taking the little boy's hand as he began to veer towards the edge of the kerb, and steered him back towards the centre of the sidewalk.

“Why did Daddy look so upset when we were leaving? Were you mean to him?” He asked, and Harry laughed a little.

“No, I wasn't mean to him,” Harry replied, then paused as he thought of how to best answer his question. Kids deserved to be kids, and Harry didn't want to make Teddy worry unnecessarily about his father's financial situation, but he didn't want to lie to him either.

“Your daddy is a proud man,” Harry began, “he feels bad accepting help from others, and sometimes forgets that it's okay to ask for help when you need it.”

“Like when we came to stay with you?”

“Yeah,” Harry replied with a smile, and Teddy's hand tensed in his. For a moment Harry was worried that he'd upset him, but a moment later Teddy smiled brightly.

“I like living with you,” Teddy said sincerely, “I get to be with my two dads that way.” Harry almost choked at his words.

“Your _two_ dads?” He asked.

“Yeah, you and Daddy,” Teddy replied simply, still smiling blandly, not a care in the world.

“I'm not your daddy Teddy,” Harry said with a short laugh, “I'm your godfather, that's why you call me Uncle Harry.”

“Nope!” Teddy said, shaking his head wildly, “you're my daddy too.” He screwed up his face, and with a small _pop!_ his hair changed from violet to black and very untidy. He looked up at Harry, and he saw Lily's eyes staring back at him, paired with an impish grin.

“All right, I give up,” Harry said with another laugh as they turned on to the main street and made for The Leaky Cauldron. Teddy shook his head to return the colour back to its usual violet, looking pleased with himself. “C'mon then, let's go find something for your dad, yeah?”

“Yeah!” Teddy said, and happily followed Harry into the pub, where he waved at Tom brightly as they passed into the alley, the barman offering the little boy a toothless grin as he waved back.

 

Of all the things Harry enjoyed when he spent time with his godson, one of his favourites had to be the ceaseless wonder upon the boy's face every time they visited Diagon Alley. Every time was like his first time, and regardless of the fact that they'd visited Diagon Alley dozens of times over the last few months, his awe at what he was seeing never faded.

Today was no different. The Alley's cobblestone streets were lightly dusted with snow, Father Christmases were on every corner collecting donations for a number of causes, and window displays were all bedecked with the hallmarks of the season. Teddy's head whipped from left to right as he took it all in, and with a faint smile Harry looked ahead and began to guide him down the winding street.

“Uncle Harry?” Teddy's uncertain tone of voice drew Harry's attention back to him, and Harry looked down to see his excitement had dimmed to a look of sad confusion.

“Hmm?”

“How come that Father Christmas doesn't have a lot of gold in his basket?” Teddy asked, his voice dropping so low that Harry had to crouch to hear him properly. The problem was, there was at least six Father Christmases within view.

“Which one Teddy? Don't point, it's rude. Just nod toward the one you mean,” Harry said, Teddy's little hand dropping to his side at the gentle admonishment, and bit his lip as he nodded towards the Father Christmas closest to them, and Harry felt his heart sink as he saw the sign next to him.

 

_Benefiting the Home for Underage Werewolves_

 

“C'mon Teddy,” Harry murmured, “I'll explain, but not here, okay?”

“'Kay,” he said, poking his thumb into his mouth as they walked, and Harry smiled sadly at Teddy as he frequently looked back at the Father Christmas, his expression troubled.

Harry stopped and pulled him aside, casting a cursory glance around them for eavesdroppers before he spoke.

“That Father Christmas was collecting donations to keep a special home open—for kids without mummies or daddies,” Harry explained softly, “the kids...they're like your dad, d'you know what I mean by that?”

“The fluffy problem,” he said at once with a nod, coming close to their usual code-word for Remus's Lycanthropy.

“Yeah, exactly,” Harry said, smiling weakly, “some people think they're dangerous or scary, and don't want to help them, that's why he didn't have as much gold as some of the other Father Christmases.” Teddy's face fell at the explanation, and Harry offered the boy's hand a gentle squeeze.

“Well...Instead of presents, can I give my gold to that Father Christmas?” Teddy asked, his voice uncertain. Harry felt his heart swell as he smiled at Teddy, _I knew there was a reason I loved this kid,_ he thought.

“'Course you can,” Harry said at once, and Teddy's expression brightened a little. “D'you want me to lend you some gold for you to get a present for your dad?” Harry asked, it was all coming out of his own vault anyway, so it didn't matter to Harry how Teddy decided to spend it. Teddy smiled, and that was enough answer for Harry as they straightened up and they made it the rest of the way to Gringotts without incident, the spring returned to Teddy's step.

 

The carts in the Gringotts tunnels never bothered Harry much, but with Teddy in tow it was a whole different story. He clutched onto him tightly while he squealed with delight as they zoomed down to his vault, much to the chagrin of the accompanying goblin, who kept shooting Teddy a nasty look every time he shrieked excitedly when they went around a sharp corner or down a steep incline.

Harry filled their moneybags, (adding a few extra galleons to Teddy's) and one panic-inducing trip later they were back out on the street. Harry had finished his shopping already, and was quite content to keep Teddy busy for the afternoon while Remus used his son's absence to set up their Christmas decorations.

“All right Teddy,” Harry said, “where d'you wanna go first?”

“I wanna get Daddy's present first,” he said at once, and proceeded to tug Harry down the Alley and towards Townsend Chocolatiers.

Townsend Chocolatiers was one of the newer shops along the Alley, and perhaps the most pretentious sweets shop Harry had ever stepped into. Their arrogance at their wares was not for nothing however, and many of their sweets would put Honeydukes to shame.

Inside were rows upon rows of chocolate truffles of every kind, from milk chocolate truffles to peppermint, cayenne spiced, pumpkin, orange, matcha, rum, and (for some strange reason) wasabi. There were chocolate bars the size of gold ingots, seasonal chocolate lollies that depicted moving caricatures of Father Christmas and his elves, and all manner of foodstuffs covered in milk, dark, or white chocolate.

After his third year, Harry hadn't been an enormous fan of chocolate, but living with Remus had rekindled his love of the stuff—the man's sweet tooth was almost ridiculous, especially his love of chocolate. Given his financial constraints he rarely indulged himself, and Harry's own gift to the man was nothing short of a small mountain of chocolatey treats for his secret stash. By the end of the season, Harry was quite certain the man would have enough chocolate to last him until _next_ Christmas.

Teddy gazed around the shop, eyes wide as he took it all in.

“Mr Potter!” a voice cried, and Harry looked up to see the shop owner bustling towards them. “What an honour, what an honour! How can I help you today?” Mr Townsend bounced from foot to foot, his bright eyes almost as wide as Teddy's were. He looked almost like a cartoon character come to life, with his black hair slicked against his head, tiny feet crammed into a pair of spats, and wide waistline near to bursting out of his a cheap black suit.

“It's not me who needs help today Mr Townsend,” Harry replied, and with a giggle from Teddy, he hoisted the boy up and onto his shoulders, so that Teddy was several inches taller than the shop owner. “My godson needs to pick something out for his father.”

“Of course, of course,” he said at once, snapping his gaze to Teddy with a friendly smile, “now young man, what kinds of chocolates does your father like?”

“The chocolate kind,” Teddy answered with a shrug, and Harry choked as a laugh escaped him at his words.

“Well then, how about a custom selection? You can pick out the chocolates yourself, even the box and colours,” Mr Townsend said, and Harry did not need to see Teddy's face to know that that would sound like a brilliant idea to him.

Teddy had a ball picking out different chocolates for the box, with Harry steering him away from the more 'unique' flavours (why did every sweets shop in the wizarding world have a cockroach sweet?) and the ones that were just plain _weird_ (what on earth was a _crunchy_ frog?). They wound up with a selection of twenty-five, for which Teddy had packed in a sheer plum box with a pale pink ribbon. As Harry watched him select the colours, he wondered vaguely if Teddy was aware that those were his mother's trademark colours, or if it was a mad coincidence.

“Uncle Harry?”

“Yeah?” Harry asked as he shook himself from his thoughts as he focused his attention on his godson.

“Can I get one of those too?” He pointed to a chocolate lolly with a reindeer on it, zooming back and forth across a starry sky. Figuring it was for himself, and despite the fact that Harry happily spoiled the kid rotten, Teddy was rarely one to ask for things. When he did, Harry never refused him.

“'Course Teddy,” Harry replied, plucked it off the display, and brought it to the counter where the chocolate box waited.

 

They spent the remainder of the afternoon alternating between browsing and shopping, where Teddy also selected gifts for Harry (making Harry wait outside of Quality Quidditch Supplies while he went in with Harry's money bag), and his Gran, and stopped in at one of the newer restaurants along the Alley for lunch around midday. Harry found it rather curious that Teddy hadn't touched the lolly he'd asked for in the chocolate shop, but as they made their way back to The Leaky Cauldron at the end of the day, Harry finally understood why.

 

Teddy slowed to a stop as they approached the Father Christmas from earlier, his basket hardly showing any change in volume from when they'd seen him earlier. Teddy hesitated, and Harry gave him a gentle nudge and a smile of encouragement.

“Go on, I'll be right here,” Harry said. After another moment's pause, Teddy toddled forward, his moneybag held aloft in both hands. He smiled at the look of absolute shock on the man's face as Teddy stopped in front of his basket and upended his money bag into it, then handed the chocolate lolly to the Father Christmas.

The man appeared to be awestruck, and he knelt down to face Teddy, his eyes shining as he said something to him, and Teddy nodded fervently. The Father Christmas then reached into his pocket, pulled out a miniature candy cane, and he handed it to Teddy. His face brightened and he leapt forward to hug him, then walked back to Harry, his face split into a huge smile. He could see a few people looking on, mixed expressions of shock and approval upon their faces, and Harry mirrored Teddy's grin. As he noticed how a handful of onlookers had begun to inch their way towards the (still very emotional) Father Christmas, Harry grabbed Teddy's upper arm to get his attention.

“Watch, Teddy,” Harry said as he nodded towards the Father Christmas. Teddy turned, and his jaw dropped a little as a number of the onlookers approached the Father Christmas, and tossed their change in. A galleon here, a few sickles there, a handful of knuts from a little girl; more and more people came forward, and soon the man's basket was full to the brim. Teddy seemed to be struck dumb with shock at the sudden turn of events, and Harry knelt down to give the little boy a hug.

“Well done Teddy,” Harry murmured softly, “you just performed a Christmas Miracle.”

  

~*~

  

Teddy was all but skipping down the walk with Harry carrying his purchases, and he watched Teddy out of the corner of his eye with a proud smile. He'd never met such a kindhearted child in his life, and Harry was full to bursting with pride at his generosity. He couldn't _wait_ to tell Remus what his son had done.

As they turned up the front garden of Number Twelve, Harry watched Teddy stop short when he noticed the wreath affixed to the door. He cocked his head to the side in confusion, but followed Harry's lead up to the house without a word.

Teddy's mouth dropped open the moment they'd stepped inside.

Golden and silver garlands twisted their way up the banister of the staircase, bells had been hung from the door so that it jingled when it was opened, and from their vantage point they could see right into the sitting room, where a modest evergreen had been set up, decorated with red and gold baubles, fairy lights, and a sparkling silver star on top. Stockings hung from the mantle, and there were already a few packages under the tree.

Remus was casually sitting by the fire, nose buried in the day's edition of the _Daily Prophet,_ and he looked up as they stepped inside.

“What happened?” Teddy asked while his eyes shifted from the three stockings by the fire that read _Teddy, Dad,_ and _Harry_ along the top in glittering silver script, to the tree, then to the garlands, and back to his father.

“Oh some elves came by earlier,” Remus replied nonchalantly, smiling at his young son, “they gave me a hand. Do you like it?”

“It's _amazing_!” Teddy said, his wide-eyed shock shifting to an excited smile. He spun to Harry and said, “Uncle Harry, can I go wrap my presents?”

“Yeah, sure, d'you want some help?” he asked while he handed over Teddy's bag of purchases.

“No, I can do it!” Teddy replied, and without another word he raced up the stairs.

“Did Teddy manage to behave himself?” Remus asked the moment the boy had disappeared. Harry turned back to Remus with a smile, and headed further into the sitting room to collapse into one of the available armchairs by the fire before he answered.

“Better. He performed an honest-to-God Christmas Miracle, I swear,” Harry said, and Remus arched a brow at his statement. He laughed a little at Remus's clear disbelief, and Harry launched into the story, grinning as he watched Remus's disbelief shift to genuine awe.

“He did that?” Remus asked, and Harry nodded once.

“He did. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own two eyes,” Harry said, then hardened his gaze a little. “You could do one thing for me, though.”

“And what might that be?” Remus asked, arching a curious brow.

“Try to explain to him that I'm not his _other daddy,_ ” Harry said, and grimaced a little when Remus snorted.

“He called you that?”

“More like insisted upon it,” Harry replied, sitting up a little straighter. “I mean, I don't mind, not _really_ , but it might give some people the wrong idea, y'know?”

“If it comes up I'll certainly try,” Remus said with another chuckle, “though when you live with an older man and his five-year-old son, people are going to make assumptions and get the wrong idea regardless.” He held up the newspaper as evidence, depicting a picture of him and Remus walking with Teddy, and clapped his hand over his face as he groaned.

“I swear, I am going to murder Rita Skeeter...” Harry mumbled, while Remus flipped back to the page he'd been on.

“This one's not as bad,” Remus remarked, “more speculation on what I could possibly possess to keep a young man's attention _,_ but apart from that...”

“And that is not as bad _how_?”

“Well, considering the last one was her speculating about whether or not we—er, _copulated_ on the full moon, this one is fairly tame by comparison,” Remus remarked, and Harry snorted.

“Okay, that's true,” Harry said with a laugh, and removed his hand from his face at last to catch Remus watching him with an amused smile. His eyes glinted with a strange, knowing look that Harry couldn't completely identify, but he was distracted from dwelling on it further as Teddy thundered back downstairs, sped into the sitting room, and skidded to a halt in front of the tree. He placed his badly wrapped gifts under the tree, then he spun to face the two adults.

“All done!” He proclaimed with a wide smile.

“They look wonderful Teddy,” Remus said with a warm smile, and Teddy's smile widened. “Want something to eat? Harry's been telling me that you had a busy afternoon.” He stood with an exaggerated groan, and the boy was quick to follow his father into the kitchen, happily babbling away about his day out.

Harry slumped down in the chair a little as he relaxed. He enjoyed having his godson around, he really did, but keeping up with him was exhausting. As he settled down, the low murmur of Teddy and Remus's distant chatter filled the silence, and Harry's eyes fell upon the discarded newspaper. Out of sheer morbid curiosity, he picked it up and flicked to the article that Remus had shown him. 

 

_Potter and Lupin: One Happy Family?_

 

_By Rita Skeeter_

_Special Correspondent_

 

 _Much speculation has surrounded the surprising turn in the young hero's life by his sudden co-habitation with known werewolf Remus Lupin(44) and his young son Theodore Lupin(5) nine months ago. It has been well-documented that following his very public split with Holyhead Harpies chaser Ginny Weasley_ (“public split my arse, you had your nose practically pressed to the window of the Burrow,” grumbled Harry) _Mr Potter was spotted out at a number of local gay clubs, both within the wizarding and muggle worlds._ ( _'I went_ once _!'_ Harry thought with frustration)

_His single lifestyle came to an abrupt halt however when Lupin moved in with him, along with his young son. One must wonder what an ex-professor and werewolf like Lupin had to offer our young Saviour that could possibly turn his head, beyond a live-in relationship with his godson. Unfortunately, both Lupin and Potter have denied our requests for an interview._

“ _It is perhaps Mr Potter's way of making up for all the losses so early in his life, in particular the loss of his parents at age one,” says Mind Healer Deidre Coop. “Mr Potter may be attracted to Mr Lupin as a father figure, as well as a partner—I am sure the lure of the danger of co-habitating with a werewolf is difficult for a young man like him—who has always been caught in one scrape or another—to resist.”_

 _Harry Potter is not unknown for leaping headfirst into dangerous situations, both in his adolescent and young adult life, but is living with a werewolf truly worth the risk? Will Mr Potter be known someday soon as_ The Werewolf Who Lived _?_

“ _I think the public takes too much interest in Potter's personal life,” says an old schoolmate who wished to remain anonymous, “Lupin was always a very responsible man, if a bit reckless, but I don't see him posing any real danger to Potter. Their age gap is more disconcerting than the man's creature status, if you ask me.”_

_We find ourselves once more restricted, dear readers, to mere speculation. One can only hope that Mr Potter knows what he's gotten himself into—binding oneself to a part-human is a very serious matter, and perhaps some day soon Mr Potter will concede to clear the air on the nature of their relationship. Until then, one can only wonder why he would have chosen such a partner, and how the man managed to snag the Chosen One so completely._

 

“She needs to find some new material,” Harry muttered as he tossed the paper back onto the table, flipping it over so that Teddy wouldn't catch sight of the picture just as the duo returned with hot chocolate and biscuits, and a strong cup of tea for Harry.

“Read anything interesting?” Remus asked mildly while he handed over the teacup.

“Yeah, the wild flights of fantasy section,” Harry replied, and Remus chuckled.

 

They passed the rest of the day peacefully enough, taking turns keeping Teddy occupied, and Harry used his free moments to sneak into his bedroom and play Father Christmas, wrapping the literal mountain of gifts he'd bought for his godson. It was not unlike the piles of gifts he'd seen Dudley receive at birthdays and holidays, but he figured once a year couldn't do his godson any harm, in particular when he was such a good little boy— _especially_ compared to his cousin.

 

Harry collapsed into bed that evening with a grunt of exhaustion, and he threw a pillow over his head as he thought with mild trepidation of the two days to come. Teddy was practically radiating his excitement already, and it seemed as though Harry would have to delve into his extra-strength, barely-legal, caffeine-dense coffee just to keep up with him. He had no idea how Remus had done it those years on his own, but then, he supposed, Andromeda probably helped. Harry hadn't been absent from Teddy's life by any means, but being a single parent was probably not easy, and he found himself grateful that he was now able to help Remus raise his son.

Almost like they really _were_ one happy family.

The thought struck Harry as odd, in particular the way that it didn't perturb him nearly as much as it probably should have. He stared up at the blurry ceiling thoughtfully, and raked a hand through his hair while his thoughts strayed back to the article he'd read earlier that day.

It was true, Harry hadn't dated much—okay, at all—since he'd broken up with Ginny two years ago, save for a handful sloppy, unpleasant one-night stands.

The concept that at least part of the public truly believed that he was in a _relationship_ with Remus was nothing short of bizarre. Beyond the fact that Harry simply could not understand what the wizarding public found so damn fascinating about who he was or was not sleeping with, this was _Remus_. He was his mentor, his friend, _not_ his lover. The man had been with Tonks, after all—he wasn't even gay.

But still...

It had been a terribly long time since Harry last had _anyone_ in his bed, and his uncooperative mind and cock conspired against him quite spectacularly, and were quick to wander to the realm of wild fantasy as he began to wonder what things would be like if Remus _did_ swing his way.

 _A whole lot of nothing, that's what, considering our age gap and the little fact that he was best mates with my dad._ Harry thought firmly, struggling to curb his thoughts from naked images of his housemate, and to something more wholesome, to no avail.

Harry was only twenty-four, after all, and his mind was bound to wander to the realm of naughty _what ifs,_ especially when he spent half his life chasing after a little kid. A little kid whom he adored, but a little kid nonetheless.

 

Determinedly ignoring his conscience trying to tell him that this was more than a little wrong, Harry yanked down the front of his pyjama bottoms and took his cock in hand.

 _What would it be like,_ Harry wondered, _for us to be in front of the fire, Teddy's already in bed, and talking softly. We shift closer and closer together on the sofa until suddenly Remus turns to me and kisses me hard on the mouth._

 _I am such a disgusting romantic..._ Harry thought hazily, the image enough to get his cock interested as through harsh gasps he watched the scene in his mind progress, _stripping each other in ten seconds flat, mouths migrating south, yanking off Remus's pants with his teeth..._

Harry wasn't even able to finish the fantasy before he was suddenly climaxing, trembling as he struggled to keep still and quiet, then panting, his limbs feeling like jelly, he flicked his wand and vanished the mess.

He lay there, pyjama bottoms half-on, half-off, still breathing heavily as he came down from the images his mind had provided— _delightful_ images.

At the same time, Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a set of footsteps out in the hall. Too heavy to be Teddy's, Harry supposed it was Remus, but froze when the footfalls stopped just outside his door. Could his werewolf senses _smell_ what he'd been up to? Wouldn't _that_ be embarrassing. Harry waited, holding his breath, but after a moment the footsteps resumed, presumably heading to check on Teddy. Harry breathed again.

The bigger question now (at least for Harry) was how he was going to keep his evening activities a secret, when it was very likely that he would go beet red the moment he laid eyes on Remus in the morning.

With a soft groan of frustration for not having the foresight to think of that, Harry pulled his blanket over his head and tried to get some sleep.

  

~*~

  

The following day went about as well as Harry could have expected. His embarrassment crept up on him none too subtly as he struggled to keep his focus on Teddy throughout the morning. This turned out to be relatively easy, given that he was a literal ball of excited energy at the idea of _Father Christmas is coming tonight_.

Remus at least did not seem suspicious of Harry's behaviour, but appeared to be a little worried about Teddy being disappointed come morning. Harry privately hoped that their evening in a sea of gingers would be enough to cheer him, while they all geared up to head over to the Burrow.

Harry pulled on his nice jeans and a Christmas jumper (an understated one to be sure, merely patterned in red and green, but Christmassy nonetheless) and stepped downstairs to meet up with the other two.

“Ready to go?” Harry asked, swallowing nervously when Remus eyed him suspiciously when Harry did not meet his gaze.

“Yep!” chimed in Teddy, easily keeping the silence from getting awkward, and they all headed over to the Floo.

 

Harry tumbled out first, but did not get out of the way fast enough and groaned when Teddy and Remus landed on top of him.

“Oh, sorry Harry,” Remus hoisted him up, and Harry strove to ignore the way his stomach somersaulted at his contact. _Not the time for that,_ Harry thought firmly, _definitely not the time to be thinking about that._

“S'fine,” Harry mumbled with a forced smile, and turned at once to greet Molly, who had been standing nearby waiting for them to sort themselves out.

“Harry dear, lovely to see you,” she pulled him into a motherly hug, followed by Remus and Teddy. “Ron and Hermione are already here, in the sitting room with the others.”

“Great,” Harry said with a smile, “thanks Mrs We—I mean, Molly for having me—er, us.” Harry felt himself go red, and she laughed gently.

“You're welcome any time dear, you know that,” she said, flicking her eyes to Remus as if to impart on him that the sentiment went for him and Teddy as well. Harry offered her one last meek smile, then hurried to the sitting room.

“Hermione!” Harry cried dramatically the moment he saw her, “you've swallowed a planet!”

“Shut _up_ Harry,” she said with a laugh, reaching out to swat him, but didn't get up. It was true she was _very_ pregnant, and Ron couldn't stop grinning at the pair of them. “This is all Ron's fault and you know it.”

“I'm pretty sure Ron wasn't the one whining to me about Ron not picking up your hints that you wanted to try for a baby,” Harry commented as he sat down and snagged a rum ball from the dish on the coffee table. She glared at him as Ron snorted, and Harry grinned innocently.

“I'm as big as a house, _everything_ hurts, I can't walk like a normal human being, and it's _all Ron's fault_ ,” she groused while she grabbed a biscuit off the table and ate it very much in the same fashion as her husband might, by cramming it into her mouth whole. Neither Ron nor Harry dared comment on it, and the ginger seemed to have the good sense to steer the conversation away from his wife's swollen belly.

“How are things going with you and Remus?” Ron asked, and Harry nearly choked on his mouthful of food.

“What—what do you mean?” Harry asked weakly as he helped himself to a bottle of butterbeer.

“I mean, how are you and Remus getting on as housemates,” Ron replied, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “Why, what d'you think I meant?”

“Er, nothing. It's fine,” Harry said in a rush, and quickly changed the subject. “I took Teddy out Christmas shopping yesterday and I swear that kid's like the Messiah.” Harry grinned at Ron's look of confusion and Hermione's amused giggle while he quickly launched into the story again, and their confusion and amusement quickly shifted to the same awe that he'd seen in Remus the day before.

“Harry, that's amazing!” Hermione said, her eyes a little shiny, “I wish I could have seen it, oh, you must have been so proud of him!”

“It's not like he's my kid,” Harry replied, shifting uncomfortably as he recalled Teddy's comments from the day before. “But yeah, I am, I guess.”

Hermione gave him a strange look, but she did not comment on it as they stuck to light, easy topics of conversation. Harry could see Remus across the room, chatting idly with Bill and Andromeda, while Teddy and Victoire tore through the sitting room, one of the parents getting up occasionally to get them to settle down, though it never lasted very long. At the same time, everyone took turns playing Pass the Baby with little Dominique and Molly II, who both seemed very pleased at all the attention they were getting.

“I take it he's excited?” Hermione asked with a giggle an hour later, while they watched Remus drag Teddy aside to talk to him again. Teddy's head was bowed a little, and Harry suspected Remus was giving him a stern reprimand to about appropriate indoor playing, after he'd nearly upended the coffee table for the third time that evening.

“You wouldn't know the half of it,” Harry said with a chuckle, “ever since your niece explained to him about Father Christmas he's been practically bouncing off the walls.”

“Give him one or two of George's new inventions and he could probably do that literally, too,” Ron said, and Harry snorted.

“Let's _not_. He manages to cause enough chaos with two feet on the ground, thank you very much,” Harry replied, while the little boy shuffled away from his father and made a beeline for Harry. The moment he reached him, Teddy climbed into Harry's lap without a word.

“You okay there Teddy?” Harry asked, and Teddy sniffled softly.

“Daddy yelled at me,” he mumbled, and Harry could see tears on his face.

“D'you know why?” Harry asked, and Teddy shrugged, but didn't answer. “D'you think you were maybe playing a bit too roughly, like you were outside?” Harry tried again, but got another feeble shrug, and a wet sniffle that tugged at his heartstrings. Harry loosely wrapped his arms around the little boy and gave him a soft squeeze.

“It's okay to be excited about Christmas Teddy,” Harry said gently, ignoring the way his two best friends looked on as he talked to his godson, “but sometimes rough play like that should be saved for outside, not inside. Your daddy isn't mad at you, he just doesn't want you to accidentally break something, that's all.”

Teddy sniffled again, big fat tears rolling down his cheeks as he rubbed roughly at his eyes with his little fists.

“C'mon,” Harry said, groaning a little as he hoisted him up, “let's go get you cleaned up.”

 

Seeing as Teddy didn't feel like using his legs, Harry carried him all the way up to the lavatory, which was no small feat, given how big he was getting. He sat him down on the closed toilet seat and mopped Teddy's cheeks with a tissue, while the little boy breathed shallowly as he tried to calm down.

“Here,” Harry said, handing Teddy a clean tissue, “blow your nose, then I want you to go apologize to your daddy for the way you were playing, okay?”

Teddy nodded meekly and accepted the tissue, blowing an alarming amount of snot out of his tiny nose, then dumped the mess into Harry's hand. He did his best not to wrinkle his nose at that as Teddy got up, threw his arms around Harry's neck in a hug, then hurried out of the loo.

Harry stood up and discarded the sodden tissue, then washed his hands very thoroughly before he headed back downstairs. Teddy and Victoire were now sitting near the Christmas tree, the Weasley girl teaching Teddy some sort of French song, and his godson looked a great deal calmer than he had not ten minutes earlier.

“You know if you don't watch yourself, you might turn into an all-right dad,” Ron said as Harry rejoined them, and he felt himself flush.

“Not likely,” Harry replied at once with a grin, “I'm too much of a softie.”

 

The remainder of the afternoon passed without incident, and by early evening both Teddy and Victoire had begun to show signs that they were ready for bed. Remus scooped up the yawning tot and Molly pressed a little drawstring bag into Harry's hand.

“Resize it after Teddy goes to bed,” she whispered, and Harry grinned at her, mouthing a soft, _thank you_ before he followed Remus into the Floo.

The Floo trip was enough to rouse Teddy, and by the time Harry had tumbled onto the hearth Teddy was wired again.

“But dad, Victoire _told_ me! You're supposed to leave out milk and biscuits for Father Christmas!”

“Teddy...” Remus began in a tone that told Harry that this was clearly not the first time they'd debated this in the two minutes it had taken him to get home.

“Oh, let him put out the biscuits Remus,” Harry said with a faint smile, “what harm will it do?”

Teddy's face lit up, and he rushed into the kitchen, where Harry could hear the scraping of a stool across the stone as he went to the task.

“You are no help at all,” Remus muttered to him, and Harry strove to ignore the way a shiver ran through him at the feeling of Remus's breath on his cheek. Instead, he grinned, but it shifted to a laugh when he saw Teddy carrying a dinner plate back into the sitting room, piled high with at least two boxes of biscuits dumped onto it.

“Hang on there Teddy!” Harry said, stepping forward, “we don't want to put Father Christmas into diabetic shock, yeah? Let's put a couple of these away.”

He escorted the little boy back to the kitchen, retrieved the empty boxes and put away most of the biscuits, leaving out a couple for him and Remus to snack on later. Harry smiled at the thought of _him and Remus_ , but shook himself a moment later in an effort to rid himself of that thought.

“I think that's enough Teddy,” Harry said, handing him back a much smaller plate, “I'll get his milk, okay?”

“'Kay,” he replied, and walked back out to the sitting room with the little plate.

Harry filled up a glass, and brought it out to the sitting room and placed it next to the biscuits, while he tried to ignore the way Remus was watching him. It made Harry feel warm in a way that was _definitely_ not appropriate in front of Teddy.

“Okay, all set!” Harry proclaimed, “now think you're ready for bed?”

With almost cartoonish speed, Teddy zipped up to the second floor without a word.

“I have no idea how you do that,” Remus said, a note of awe in his voice.

“Do what?” Harry asked as he straightened up and looked at Remus, _properly_ looked at him, for the first time all day. He was relieved that for the moment he was managing to keep his emotions in check.

“Get him to listen to you so easily,” he replied, “I have to say the same thing three or four times, and then _I'm_ the bad guy when I lecture him for it, but you say it once and he just...does it.”

“It's a gift,” Harry replied with a vague shrug, “I dunno, kids just like me.”

“Clearly,” he turned his head a little and smiled at Harry—a smile that made him feel very warm again. “Would you like to join us for storytime?”

“That's your time with him Remus,” Harry said at once, not wanting to intrude on the pair's nightly ritual, “besides, I have some stuff to...prepare.”

Remus eyed him oddly but did not protest as he followed his young son's footsteps upstairs, at a much slower pace, however.

Harry waited for a moment, then drew the bag Molly had given him from his pocket and resized it. Chortling a little, he found it crammed with gifts—mostly for Teddy, but with a few items for him and Remus as well, and a few gifts labelled to him _and_ Remus, as a joint gift. The implication brought another flush to Harry's cheeks, and to keep from making too much noise, he used his wand to disperse the gifts under the tree and into the stockings, then headed upstairs.

He could hear the low murmur of Remus reading to Teddy, though through the closed door he couldn't make out the words. Harry tip toed down the hall and to his room, where he began to sort out all the gifts he had ready to go. Harry knew that he'd definitely over-indulged, and Remus would be ridiculous about it, but Harry did not care in the least. Teddy was his godson damn it, it was practically in the job description to spoil him.

About fifteen minutes later there was a soft tapping on his door and Remus let himself in, and immediately his eyes went wide at the sight before him.

“I thought you said that you wouldn't go overboard?” He asked crossly.

“Yeah, well, I lied,” Harry replied with a grin, “is he asleep?” he asked, and Remus nodded, still frowning at Harry. “Oh don't be such a grinch,” Harry said, still smiling at the scowling older man, “it's practically my job to spoil Teddy, and you _know_ that Sirius was the same with me. Remember my Firebolt?”

Remus continued to glare at Harry, then at last he deflated a little and nodded his head.

“Fine, you win. But next year tone it down, I mean it,” Remus said sternly.

“Yeah, sure,” Harry said with another grin, and Remus frowned at him, but didn't protest—for the moment.

 

The pair cast silencing charms on their feet, and carefully levitated the piles of presents and brought them downstairs to the tree. Remus took charge of organizing them nicely, while Harry crammed the stockings with fruit, candy, and small toys.

When they'd finished, they each helped themselves to a biscuit and sat down on the sofa, while Harry looked at the tree, positively drowning in gifts, and he couldn't help but grin. Teddy was going to _flip_.

“Not bad Father Christmas,” Remus said with a smile as he looked at the tree, knocking Harry's knee once with his own. This caused Harry's stomach to do another somersault as Remus turned his full attention onto Harry. “I _would_ like to know something, however.”

The shift in Remus's tone from light to serious startled him, and Harry turned to face him, swallowing thickly.

“Y-you would?” Harry asked, wincing when his voice escaped him as little more than a squeak.

“You haven't been able to look me in the eye all day,” Remus said, skipping pleasantries completely to voice the issue straightaway. “Any particular reason why?”

“Um...” Harry cursed inwardly. _Damn it, why do I have to go red_ now _?_ He thought, but he was distracted from his thoughts almost at once when he felt a large hand rest on top of his thigh. Harry's gaze shot back up to meet Remus's, and something told him that Remus knew _exactly_ why he hadn't been able to look at him all day.

“Would it perhaps have something to do with your bedroom activities last night?” Remus asked, arching a brow as his hand slid up higher, the other reaching out to cradle his chin, and his thumb brushed lightly over Harry's bottom lip, “perhaps wandering, inappropriate thoughts related to Miss Skeeter's article?”

“Y-you...” Harry began, but his voice was shaking too much to form a coherent sentence. Remus leant in, but did not kiss him, merely let his lips hover over Harry's.

“Perhaps taking those articles a little too much to heart?” Remus asked, his breath tickling Harry's mouth and cheek as he spoke, the wandering hand now mere millimetres from Harry's groin, and the dual sensation was enough to reduce Harry's brain to mush.

“I—I...” Harry stammered, but he was relieved of answering properly when Remus's lips brushed over his own.

Who knew the simple act of kissing someone could feel so completely _right_.

And Remus was indeed a fantastic kisser. His lips massaged Harry's, coaxing them open slowly while he drew the young man closer, the hand at his chin moving to cradle the back of his neck and Remus's delightfully talented tongue darted out to taste him.

“Wow,” Harry breathed, looking up at Remus as they broke the kiss, he now flushed for a very different reason. Remus smiled, a strange, decidedly _un-_ Remus smile in its confidence, and instead of verbally answering Harry, he leant in for another kiss.

“Wow indeed,” Remus murmured against his mouth, his breathing almost as laboured as Harry's was. “You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that.”

“Can I hazard a guess...since last night?” Harry asked, and Remus chuckled again as he reached down cupped Harry's very obvious erection in his hand and gave it a light squeeze which elicited a soft, shuddering moan from Harry.

“A little longer than that,” Remus replied softly, and a small smile stretched across his face.

“Why did you wait so long?” Harry asked, his breathing shaky as he arched into the touch, and Remus leant in for another intoxicating kiss.

“A number of reasons,” he murmured between kisses, “I'm sure you can understand. Your youth, the fact that it would be highly inappropriate, given the fact that I'd served as your mentor for a great many years...” Remus murmured, and Harry could not help the few soft moans that escaped him as Remus began to massage his aching cock through his clothes. “After last night, I had little reason to ignore my desires any longer, given that it was quite clear that you'd likely reciprocate them.”

“In layman's terms, you caved,” Harry summarized before kissing him again, but pulled back almost at once as another soft moan escaped him, and he arched into the touch.

“I did indeed,” Remus replied with a chuckle.

“I hate to spoil your fun,” Harry muttered, gasping sharply when Remus offered his jean-encased cock another squeeze, “but I am going to come _right_ here if we don't move this to the bedroom very soon.”

“And how would that...as you say, spoil my fun?” Remus asked, brushing feather-light kisses along Harry's throat, and eliciting another groan from the young man.

“Well I just think it'd be kind of hard to explain to Teddy what we're doing if he tries to sneak down and check to see if Father Christmas came,” Harry mumbled, biting his bottom lip as Remus continued his work, and Harry bucked feebly into his hand. His mind was caught somewhere between genuine concern that Teddy might catch them and a blissful blankness, and Harry had absolutely no idea which was the stronger impulse at that moment.

“True enough,” Remus replied with a soft chuckle, and began to retract his hand, Harry opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by another heady kiss. “Come,” he murmured softly, “let's retire to the bedroom.”

“I like that suggestion,” Harry replied with a grin, and hand in hand the pair snuck back upstairs and into Harry's bedroom.

Harry held off long enough to cast a number of silencing charms on the door, then as soon as he lowered his wand Remus caught Harry's mouth with his.

Harry groaned, overwhelmed once more from the strength of the kiss, and he grunted, staggering back into the door, where Remus pinned him with a very satisfying _flump_ as his back coming into contact with the door. He reached out to throw his arms over Remus's shoulders, and roughly ground his groin into his partner's, which drew a delicious groan from the older man.

“Harry...” Remus moaned, and Harry groaned at the sound of his own name being spoken in such a way. Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew that the speed in which this relationship— _was it a relationship?_ He wondered—was developing was _far_ too fast, but a much larger part of his mind didn't care, and was only looking for release.

In between deep, heated kissed they stripped off, Harry grumbling at the man's insistence on wearing an infuriating amount of layers, and by the time Harry was pinned to the bed they were both nude, and Harry pulled back for a moment just to admire him.

Remus was a well-proportioned man, the lines of age marking his skin slightly, but less than Harry would have expected. His chest in particular was a crisscross of scars, and Harry could see on the man's right shoulder a distinctive bite mark that had to be _the_ bite.

Harry reached for him again and dragged him into a heated kiss before he murmured roughly, “I want you to fuck me Remus,” he paused for a hungry kiss, then pulled back a little to look into his eyes. “But, go slow, all right? I haven't bottomed in a while.”

Remus smiled down at him and leant in for another kiss, this one devoid of the fire and hunger, and took on a tenderness that Harry had not expected. He wrapped a hand around the back of Remus's neck to hold him there a moment longer, and when he pulled back at last he guided Harry onto his hands and knees.

A cleansing charm shot through Harry's arse and he let out a hiss of discomfort, but not outright pain. Harry reached for the top drawer of his night table to fish out his lubricant, and he watched as Remus peered over him and into the drawer, then shifted his gaze back to Harry with an arched, suggestive brow.

“Well that would explain why you always keep this drawer locked,” he commented, and picked out one of the dildos that resided in there and offered Harry a sideways glance.

“Think you could save the double penetration fantasies for another night?” Harry asked with a chuckle as he pressed the jar of lubricant into Remus's free hand, and he dropped the toy back into the drawer at once.

“Hmm, man after my own heart,” he purred, and kissed Harry again as he opened the jar and dipped two fingers in.

“Pervert,” Harry shot back with a grin, it shifting to a soft gasp as Remus brushed his cool, damp fingertips against his hole.

“You were the one who said double penetration, not me. That would make _you_ the pervert, would it not?” Remus asked conversationally as he worked his fingers into Harry's arse slowly, clearly realizing that Harry did not need much in the way of preparation despite his claim that he had not bottomed in a while, if his toy drawer was any indication.

Remus retracted his fingers slowly after a minute or two, and returned his attention to the lubricant to slick his cock, then with one hand on Harry's hip, he lined himself up with Harry's entrance.

Remus breached Harry's arse with slow, careful movements, and Harry let out a soft groan at the thrilling sensation. He closed his eyes as he waited for the low thrum of stinging pain to pass, and he felt a soft tickle brush his face as Remus removed his glasses and set them aside for him.

Remus was significantly bigger than the last no-name person Harry had let fuck him, and he fleetingly wondered if that was a _werewolf thing_ or if he was just naturally well-endowed. Either way, his arse felt delightfully full, and Harry moaned at the sensation; it had been _too_ long since he'd felt this way.

Remus took his vocalization for preparedness, and slowly began to move. It was not the rough sex Harry had imagined, and instead it was slow and tender, though no less satisfying. Harry groaned as he arched his back and moved in slow rhythm with Remus, and his breath escaped him in short gasps as he reached forward to clutch at the blankets, and Remus gripped Harry's hips tightly as his thrusts sped up, causing Harry to lurch forward slightly with each movement.

As they moved, Remus's thrusts steadily became jerkier, and Harry felt the sharp sting of Remus's teeth against his shoulder blade as he approached orgasm—though it was nowhere near hard enough to break the skin.

Harry reached down to pull himself to orgasm with Remus, but was startled when his hand was swatted away, and Remus closed his large, callused hand over Harry's cock. He groaned at the sensation as he arched his neck and pressed his head back against Remus's chest and Harry came first with a sharp cry, with Remus following closely behind.

They lay there for a few long minutes, breathing heavily, and as Remus's cock softened he slid out of Harry, and Harry rolled over immediately to kiss him. Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and pulled him closer, breaking the kiss momentarily to flick his wand and clean up their respective messes, and then Harry felt a strange warmth encasing his legs, and he looked down to see Remus conjuring a pair of pyjama bottoms for each of them.

“Teddy will come bursting in here at the crack of dawn,” Remus said by way of explanation. “It may be easier for him to take in if he is not given full view of our bare bums.”

“Among other things,” Harry replied with a chuckle, and yanked the duvet out from under them before he settled back into Remus's arms.

  

~*~

  

“ _Uncle Harry, Daddy! Father Christmas came and you_ have _to see the tree!_ ”

 

_BANG!_

 

Teddy's cries and the subsequent crash of Harry's bedroom door flying open surprised neither of them, but Teddy skidded to a halt in the doorway and stared at the pair of them in confusion.

“Daddy, did you have a bad dream?” Teddy asked as the two sat up, yawning and stretching while they summoned their dressing gowns to throw over their pyjamas.

“How d'you mean Teddy?” Remus asked as he slid from the bed and walked over to the little boy.

“Well, whenever I have a bad dream and it's a wolf moon Uncle Harry lets me sleep with him,” he replied, and stared as Harry stepped up to Remus and kissed him, making Teddy's eyes widen.

“It was a _really_ bad dream Teddy,” Harry replied with a chuckle, grinning at the way Remus's cheeks turned a faint pink. “Come on then, let's go see what Father Christmas brought you.”

Teddy's eyes brightened and he barrelled downstairs.

“ _Theodore Remus Lupin_ don't you dare open a single gift until Harry and I have our coffees in our hands!” Remus called, and Harry threw his head back and laughed.

“ _Now_ he knows you're serious—the dread middle name,” Harry said with a grin, and they spared Teddy the torture of waiting any longer than he had to by using the instant stuff, and they meandered into the sitting room side by side, Harry sipping his black coffee, Remus nursing one with so much milk and sugar that it was barely coffee any more, and as they settled down, they watched Teddy tear through the stocking gifts, taking their own more slowly, setting aside the small gifts of sweets, oranges, and apples. Harry couldn't help but laugh at the way Teddy moaned impatiently at how _long_ Harry and Remus were taking.

 

Once they'd finished, Harry knelt down next to the mountain of gifts under the tree. Remus produced a wizarding camera and snapped a number of shots of Harry next to the tree, of Teddy opening everything from storybooks to a toy broom, a kids chess set, his very own Weasley jumper, and over a dozen other gifts.

Harry tried to space it out with the gifts for himself and Remus, but given that the majority were for Teddy this made it rather difficult. Harry chuckled as he opened the gift from Teddy to find a Holyhead Harpies-themed quill set, and Remus appeared thrilled with Teddy's gift to him, his gaze softening a little as he took in the colours of the box and its ribbon. Harry smiled sadly as he watched, and felt a sharp pang in his stomach as he remembered Tonks. Harry could never feel jealous of Remus's love for her—no one could have known Nymphadora Tonks and _not_ love her.

Harry moved to the sofa next to Remus, and brushed the back of the older man's hand with his. He looked up from the box and smiled sadly, and brushed Harry's lips with a light kiss.

“Thank you Harry,” Remus whispered, softly enough that Teddy couldn't hear him.

“What for?” He asked.

“Everything.”

Chuckling softly, Harry kissed Remus again. He ignored Teddy's comments ('stop that, it's icky!') and took Remus's hand properly to give it a small squeeze.

“Merry Christmas, Remus.”

 

-Fin


End file.
